Mainstreaming Corporate Responsibility

Citation

Haniffa, R. (2010), "Mainstreaming Corporate Responsibility", International Journal of Law and Management, Vol. 52 No. 1, pp. 67-68. https://doi.org/10.1108/17542431011018552

This text joins the steadily growing list of publications on corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, unlike other texts which tend to be subject specific or regionally focused, this book, as the title suggests, advocates integration of CSR into the mainstream operation of the whole business. Specifically, it focuses on how business school can help enhance the incorporation of CSR into the business curriculum by making it an essential element to the range of core business subject areas being offered in preparing the next generation of managers. This comes at an important time following the collapse in confidence on bankers which would no doubt lead to a substantial shift in the way we think about capitalism and the global economy; and there is no better place to instill moral awareness than in business schools.

The book covers aspects of CSR in eight areas of business, namely, strategy, accounting, finance, economics, entrepreneurship, marketing, organizational behaviour and operations management. It has 30 chapters and nine parts with each part consisting of between three to four articles related to CSR issue on each of the eight specific subject area plus two short articles in the introduction (part 1). This presents the uniqueness of this book compared with its other competitors. The introductory chapter for each part of the subject‐specific area provides a flavour of key points of connection between CSR and the particular discipline, with the other articles being either cases or general reading addressing issues related to CSR in that discipline. The chapters display a reasonable coherence as they are organized in the text. A conclusion chapter, which is absent, highlighting the various CSR issues discussed in prior chapters and the way forward, would have been helpful.

The attempt in showing the impacts of CSR on the various aspects of business in one book is commendable as it helps readers understand that CSR is not a particular subject phenomenon but is cross‐disciplinary. The inclusion of case studies provides insight on how CSR is conceptualized, managed and assessed in different parts of the world (e.g. IBM in China, Shell Nigeria, Waste Management in Bangladesh, etc.). Herein lies the strength of the book and potential appeal to taught courses in management that may rely heavily on the use of the case study method. The text is thus suitable for students on the MBA programme and similar markets as they would be able to appreciate the issues more than students without any workplace experience.

However, there are some weaknesses in the book for teaching and learning purposes. First, the book does not provide any background readings on the definition and development of the concept of CSR, its philosophical conceptualization and its actual historical, political and cultural development within a global context. It also fails to highlight the tension between economic efficiency and morality and discussion on how CSR has been used as a management tool to improve economic performance of business or the “business case” and alternatively, as a mechanism to empower stakeholders and enhance corporate accountability. Those aspects may well be reflected in the case studies and discussed in class but without touching on those aspects in the introduction chapters, it would be difficult to see how readers would be able to identify such issues when analysing the case studies. Second, the way some of the case studies is being written and presented is a bit disappointing for their descriptiveness. Similarly, there is no consistent structure to the presentation of the cases which readers not familiar to case study approach may find difficult to comprehend or handle. The text is peppered with tables and other information that surprisingly are often not integrated into the narrative. Some of the exhibits (e.g. pp. 25‐8, 129‐35, etc.), especially those from the internet, are difficult to read due to almost invisible font size. It would have been better if the link is provided or to show it more clearly in the text, especially if they are deemed important information in discussing the case. From a research point of view, the potential of the book has been much reduced as it excludes more theoretical and methodological chapters, which understandably may be due to the need to appeal to the widest possible business school audience. For managers who are practical oriented, the book may well serve their need as it presents real issues and dilemma often faced by management in the real world.

In summary, while the text as it is presently formulated is rather disappointing in its contribution towards theory, the book nonetheless provides some detail to interest the readers concerned with CSR.